post hoc, ergo propter hoc

US: (pōst′ hōk′, er′gō prōp′ter hōk′; Eng. pōst′ hok′, ûr′gō prop′tər hok′ er′gō)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

post hoc, er•go prop•ter hoc  (pōst′ hōk′, er′gō prōp′ter hōk′; Eng. pōst′ hok′, ûr′gō prop′tər hok′ er′gō), [Latin.]

1. Foreign Terms after this, therefore because of it: a formula designating an error in logic that accepts as a cause something that merely occurred earlier in time.